A youthful, yet experienced
roster awaits head coach Jim Daugherty as Valparaiso
returns to the tennis courts to begin the 2010 spring season. The 25th year head coach returns five players
from last spring’s lineup while adding three new faces, including one that
garnered his first collegiate tennis experience during this past fall
season. Despite the experience that
returns for the Crusaders this upcoming season, Valpo has just one senior that
will be taking to the courts this year.

The Crusaders are coming off
of an 8-12 season overall last spring, including a 3-4 mark in Horizon League
action to earn a share of fourth place in the conference standings. This year, with nearly everyone back from
last year’s squad, plus the addition of three others, Valpo looks to climb even
higher in the league ranks.

The lone senior competing for
the Brown and Gold in 2010 is Tom Litscher, who played mainly second singles
and number one doubles during his junior campaign. This fall he got his first taste at the top
singles spot, while teaming in doubles play to post a .500 mark as well. Since his sophomore season, Litscher has won
21 doubles contests for the Brown and Gold, and his experience will be called
upon this year to help lead the Crusaders.

Kyle Stump is the only Valpo
player that is in his junior season athletically. He won 11 singles matches in both his
freshmen and sophomore seasons for the Crusaders, while also entering the
spring with 20 career doubles wins.
Stump played mainly at the fifth spot last year, moving up from number
six singles where he played during his rookie campaign. In doubles action, he split time between the
second and third spots in the lineup.

Sophomore Adam Whitmer led
the Crusaders in singles victories a year ago, his rookie season with the Brown
and Gold. Whitmer posted a 16-11 singles
mark, moving from the sixth spot where he started the year all the way up to
number three singles by the end of the season.
He also split time between number two and three doubles, and combined
with this fall, enters the spring with 10 doubles triumphs.

Kevin DeHerrera also was
thrust into the Valpo lineup last year during his rookie season, responding
with 10 victories in both singles and doubles play. In singles action, DeHerrera competed in the
third and fourth spots in the order while playing a combination of two and
three doubles throughout the year. He
also earned a pair of fall wins in both singles and doubles, giving him
momentum heading into his second season with the Brown and Gold.

Carlton Lyons joined the
program prior to last season, appearing in just one singles and two doubles
matches during his first year with the Crusaders. This fall though, he got a more in depth
taste of collegiate tennis, posting a team-leading three singles wins while
also notching a pair of doubles triumphs.

Siddarth Mehta joined the
Crusader program this fall after transferring from Purdue, and has three years
of eligibility remaining. He earned a
pair of singles wins in the fall, playing at the fifth spot in the Valpo
lineup, while also teaming for a pair of doubles victories. Mehta played his prep tennis at South Bend Clay
High School, where he was a teammate
of Lyons.

Two transfers have arrived at
Valpo prior to the start of this spring semester from North Carolina State,
and both will be eligible to compete for the Crusaders immediately, as they did
not play collegiately with the Wolfpack.
Chris Baum played at Providence
High School in Charlotte, N.C.
where he led the Panthers to the 2007 state tennis championship as well as the
finals in 2006. He has four years of
eligibility remaining at Valpo. Michael
Woodson joins the Crusaders with three years of eligibility. He was a two-time All-Triangle Independent
Schools Athletic Conference selection for Ravnscroft
School in Raleigh, N.C.
where he was the team’s Most Valuable Player as a senior.

Senior Jose Gaspar
also arrives at Valpo as a transfer from the University of New Orleans,
but per NCAA rules he must sit out the 2009-2010 season. He will have one remaining year of
eligibility for 2010-2011 and is able to practice with the team this year
though.

As is typical with
Daugherty’s teams, this year’s Crusader team will face yet another challenging
schedule. The season begins January 16-17 at the Purdue Invitational, in which
the Crusaders will face a pair of Big Ten foes in the host Boilermakers as well
as preseason #3-ranked Ohio
State.

The dual match season begins
a week later, on January 22, as the Crusaders head to Ball State. Valpo will also face Dayton,
Western Michigan, IUPUI, and Toledo before
heading south to Florida
for its annual spring trip. While in the
Sunshine State,
the Crusaders will battle Creighton, Boston University,
Connecticut, Fairfield, and Monmouth.

Upon returning north, Valpo
will begin Horizon League play on March 20 at Green Bay
before heading to Detroit. The Crusaders then begin the home slate at
the Valparaiso University Tennis Complex on April 2 hosting Youngstown State,
the first of six straight home tilts.
The regular season ends on April 18 at home against Butler
before the Crusaders head to Indianapolis,
Ind. for the Horizon League
Tennis Championships slated for April 23-25.

Despite just one senior and
one junior on its roster, the Crusaders are poised to move into the top half of
the Horizon League standings. With the
youthful makeup of this year’s squad, Valparaiso’s
tennis program is set for yet another exciting season on the courts.